[Limit Breaker]

Here is some words from Josh Arieh on the Made-King high flush folding at the 2004 WSOP. Interesting how he noticed John Murphy's tell on the board pairing.

A question I continue to get on a daily basis is “How did you know to fold your king high flush vs. John Murphy with two tables left at the WSOP?” Well, since I'm home here in Atlanta and don’t have much to tell about, I thought today was a great chance to give you guy’s insight into my thinking that hand.

For those that are unfamiliar with the hand, it went like this. John raised in late position and I was directly to his left with a few more chips than him. The both of us had nice stacks and I felt that he didn’t want to tangle with me, since he was out of position. I know if the tables were turned and he had position on me, I definitely would have shied away from playing big pots with him….. Anyway……John made a typical raise with pockets twos and I called the raise with K4 of hearts. Everyone else folded and our two big stacks were tangling head up. The flop came QJ2 with two hearts. He led for a respectable and expected small amount and I flat called. The turn was an off suit six and he led for another bet about the size of the pot. This is where I probably should have folded, but my implied odds were pretty good at this point. If I make my flush on the river, I can win a buncha chips. So, I called and the Q of hearts came on the river, making my flush but also pairing the board. Murphy moved all-in and I had really gotten my self into a doo-daa-day here. I asked for a count down and thought about it for a long time before making my final decision. There was actually a few times in my mind that I saw myself pushing the chips in and calling. After a minute or so of deliberation it came to me. I finally put all of the pieces of the puzzle together and realized that I have no call here. Yes, I may be laying the best hand down, but no it’s not the time and place to be guessing. If I were wrong I would have like 200k left, but if I am right, I still have an above average stack and can continue to chop away at the amateurs that were still remaining in the tournament. It may sound cocky or arrogant, but that’s exactly how I felt.

Another thing I thought about while I was putting the pieces of the puzzle together was the ole “I know that he knows that I know” game. There was no doubt in my mind that he was knew that I was drawing at a flush and when the board paired with a heart he kinda acted without thinking. John is an amazing player with amazing instincts. I am sure if he would have thought for another second, he would have check raised me and possibly crippled my chances at becoming world champion or even making the final table. It was definitely a pleasure being able to play with John in the main event; I can honestly say his great play late in the tournament definitely helped bring my game to another level. - Josh Arieh.